Father's Day
by CreativityFlow
Summary: There's only one person Dani considers to be her father - she just hopes he accepts her gift. Danny/Dani Father/Daughter fic. One Shot.


**I just love the idea of Danny and Dani having this kind of relationship. And since I'm still on my Danny Phantom fix, I figured I should do _something_. Please favorite/review, and if you like, maybe you could check out my other DP fanfic, Self Aware?**

* * *

Danielle stood in the middle of Walmart, staring at the card selection. Around her, kids and and adults alike were thumbing through the card stock, in search for the perfect Father's Day card.

Dani wasn't even sure if she _should_ get a card. She assumed Danny was techniquely her father, since it was his DNA that created her, but she had never gone to school, so she wasn't too sure. But he was always there for her, and always helped when she asked. That's what dads do, right? They help their little girls?

"Can I help you, dear?"

Dani turned to face an elderly woman wearing a blue vest - a worker. Her grey hair framed her face, and her chocolate eyes smiled.

She almost told the kind lady no, but a kid around her age whizzed past, holding a card tightly in his hand. Dani sighed, and looked at the lady whose name tag read _Margret_.

"What's a father?" she asked. "Does he have to be the one who created you?"

Margret blinked but gave a warm smile. "Oh, honey, no," she said. "A father is there for you when you need him most."

Turning to goop? Dani had been pretty desperate then, and Danny was there for her.

"He protects you, and raises you," Margret continued.

Danny didn't exactly raise her, but he definitely put her on the right path. As for protection, he was the poster boy.

"I don't know if he thinks of me as his daughter," Dani admitted, staring glumly at the ground.

Margret kneeled down in front of the half ghost, and smiled warmly. "If you ask me, any man would be lucky to call you his daughter," she assured. "You seem like a very sweet and charming young lady. And by the way you keep eyeing the cards, I'd say you've already made your choice."

Dani searched the older woman's eyes, trying to determine if she was being truthful. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and took a step closer to the cards. Margret's hand landed on her shoulder, and Dani was thankful.

 _It's just a card_ , she told herself. _It's just a card._

Margret helped her search, asking seemingly random questions, but with each answer a card was either picked up or sat down.

After fifteen minutes of searching, Dani was ready to give up and forget about it. Heaving a sigh, she decided the fortieth time was the charm. She closed her eyes and picked randomly.

"Oh, that's a nice choice," Margret told her. "You said his dream was to be an astronaut."

It was a cheesey card. _Very_ cheesey. It could work, though. If Danny decided it was too weird, or he didn't feel the same, she could pretend it was joke. Except that kind of hurt to think about, so Dani pushed that thought out of her head.

She finally let a ghost of a smile grace her lips, and she nodded. Margret smiled as well.

"Is that all you wanted, sweetie?"

It was all Dani could afford, but she didn't say it. Besides, this was an experiment. She didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them crushed.

"This is it," she assured, and followed Margret to the nearest register.

* * *

Dani flew through the sky, heading straight to Fenton Works. Father's Day was two days away, and she wanted to spend the rest of the evening with Danny today, and maybe, if he liked his card, the day tomorrow as well.

Two days. That's all she wanted.

When she passed over the park, three figures caught her attention. Skulker was fighting Danny and Valerie, and unfortunately, the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter was winning.

Dani checked to make sure the card was safely tucked away before diving down to lend a hand. She stopped behind Skulker and blasted him, catching him, Danny, and Valerie by surprise.

"Dani?" Valerie gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I not stop by for a visit?" she asked, smiling with her arms crossed.

Danny was grinning widely and looked like he wanted to say something, but Skulker came up from behind and attacked... Dani.

"Danielle!" Danny shouted, tackling her out of harms away and both of them out of the sky. They clutched each other tightly as they plummeted downward and landed in a crater on the grass.

Somehow, Danny had twisted them around so that he landed on the bottom, and Danielle landed roughly on top of him.

"You know," Dani coughed, "we could have just gone intangible."

Danny blushed, and after Dani stood, he sat up. Beside them, Skulker crash landed five feet away from them.

"If you two aren't busy, I could use some help here," Valerie called.

Immediately, the original and his clone jumped into action, attacking the ghost with one mind. In no time, Skulker was locked up in the Fenton Thermos.

"Now that he's gone...," Danny smiled, and turn to his opposite. He grabbed her in a hug, and laughed at Dani's surprised shriek. "What are you doing here?"

"Am I not allowed to visit?" Dani repeated, hugging back.

Valerie smiled at the scene and decided she would return for Danny Phantom another day. Niether Phantom noticed her departure.

"How've you been?" Danny asked her, his hands tightly grasping her shoulders. If Dani didn't know any better, she would have thought he was afraid she would disappear.

"I've been great," she told him. "I've been traveling all throughout the world and Ghost Zone. Can we go together sometime, Danny? Please?"

Danny laughed and nodded. "If you stay long enough, we could go tomorrow."

Danielle froze.

"Dani?" Danny called, and waved his hand in front of her face. "Danielle?"

Blinking, Dani blushed and looked away. "I, uh, actually did have a reason to come here," she said softly, her hand fluttering to her pocket.

A questioning look graced the 15 year old's features. "Dani, is everything okay?" he asked. "You know you can tell me anything."

"I know," she said softly. Danielle twiddled her thumbs and avoided Danny's eyes. "Can we... can we go somewhere more private?"

Danny glanced around and noticed that the citizens of Amity were slowly coming out of their hiding spots now that the ghost threat was gone.

"I have the perfect place," he told her, and offered his hand.

Dani accepted with a small smile, and together, they took to the skies.

Dani didn't remember much about the trip. She was too busy having an inner panic attack. _He'll think I'm crazy,_ she thought. _He'll never want to see me again. He'll-_

"Danielle?"

Blinking, Dani pulled herself from her thoughts and looked up. They were in a small field, with what looked like an old barn a few yards away. It looked abandoned, and Dani wondered where they were.

Danny must of noticed her confused expression, because he smiled and plopped down on the grass. "Amity used to be a farming town," he explained. "This is one of the many abandoned lots left behind."

Danielle nodded quietly and sat down. She was seriously questioning her sanity. Danny was _fifteen_. He was going to think she was crazy. No matter how she looked at it, this had no decent outcome.

Danny sighed, and pulled her down to him. "Danielle, what's wrong?"

"It's just... Saturday's Fathers Day," she mumbled. "And Vlad... well, he wasn't exactly a father figure. But I've never really had a dad, so really, I wouldn't know. But, I asked this lady at Walmart, and she said that-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Danny interrupted, gently placing his hands on the young girls shoulders. "Slow down, okay? You sound like you're going to have a panic attack."

Danielle blushed. "Well, Margaret, from Walmart, told me what a dad was." Danny nodded, urging her to continue. "She... she said that a dad is someone who takes care of you, and protects you... With me always on the move, there hasn't really been anyone to care about me, or protect me except... except you."

Done with her speech, Danielle turned away with blushing cheeks.

Danny was silent, long enough that Danielle started to panic.

" It's stupid, I know," she mumbled, pulling out the blue envelope. "If... If you never want to see me again, or just , you know, don't want to deal with me, I could-"

"Don't say that," Danny said. "You can't talk about yourself like that. Dani, I would be honored to be your father."

His arms wrapped around her tightly, and Dani's breath caught in her throat. After a moment, she threw her arms around his middle, and burried her head in his chest.

"I-I got you a card," she finally said, handing over the blue envelope.

"I mean, I wasn't sure when I bought it, but..."

Danny took the card with shaking hands, and carefully opened the blue paper. Danielle blushed as he read the cheesey card, and hid her face when she heard him chuckle.

"Thank you, Dani," he said, leaning over and kissing her forehead. "I'll keep this forever."

"Really?" Dani beamed at his words, and flung her arms around the elder halfa.

Danny hugged her back, squeezing the girl tightly.

"So, will you stick around long enough to properly celebrate Fathers Day with me?" Danny asked.

Danielle grinned. "I guess I can spend more time with my _out of this world dad."_

The older ghost smiled happily, and stood up, dragging the younger up with him. "I sure hope so."


End file.
